McKenzie & Snyder win Appellate Court Case for Cincinnati Injured Worker: BWC Claim for Radiculopathy

Appealing Ohio Workers' Comp Decisions

In Ohio, workers' compensation issues are typically resolved by the Industrial Commission. If a party wants to appeal a decision about allowing a claim or an additional condition, they can do so at the court of common pleas.

In Cincinnati, these appeals are handled by the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. If a party is still not satisfied with that outcome, they can appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals, First Appellate District of Ohio, also in Hamilton County.

Successful Radiculopathy Claim Appeal

McKenzie & Snyder recently appealed a decision from the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. This appeal concerned the additional allowance of radiculopathy in a Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) claim.

The First District Court issued an opinion that reversed the trial court’s decision. The case was remanded for the trial court to enter a judgment in favor of the injured worker. This allowed the worker to participate in the workers’ compensation fund for the additional allowance of lumbar radiculopathy at L4-5 and L5-S1.

Precedent for Future Claims

This decision was significant for several reasons. It allowed this injured worker's claim to be recognized for the appropriate conditions.

The decision was a rather important one because it not only allowed this injured workers’ claim to finally be recognized for the appropriate conditions, it also set precedent that an injured workers’ claim need not be allowed for a “compressive pathology” (e.g., disc herniation) before radiculopathy may be recognized.

It also established a precedent that a claim does not need to be allowed for a "compressive pathology" (like a disc herniation) before radiculopathy can be recognized.

Court Decision Reference

You can review the Court’s decision in Bell v. Ryan here: http://www.hamilton-co.org/appealscourt/